Friday, May 31, 2002
Carolina has week off before Game 1 of Cup
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes would rather work than wait.
Too bad for them, the Hurricanes will have plenty of time off heading into the franchise's first Stanley Cup finals.
The Hurricanes won the Eastern Conference championship over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. They won't play Game 1 of the Cup finals at either Detroit or Colorado until Tuesday.
The gap in the schedule was created when Carolina won its series over Toronto in six games, while the Red Wings forced a Game 7 with Colorado in the Western finals on Friday night by beating the Avalanche 2-0.
“I wanted to start Saturday, but that's just the way things worked out,” Glen Wesley said Thursday after a second straight day of off-ice workouts. “You really get into a rhythm mentally and that's the toughest thing we're going to have to deal with and prepare for when we get ready to go next week. We've got to stay mentally focused during practice these next few days.”
Of the regulars, only David Tanabe, who has been out since the New Jersey series with a broken wrist, and Jeff O'Neill were on the ice Wednesday. And O'Neill was on briefly to check out a new pair of skates.
Erik Cole, one of the more banged-up Hurricanes during the postseason, agreed with Wesley, saying he would have preferred to start the Cup finals over the weekend.
“It would have been better for us to get right back at it, but we'll take the layoff and get some good rest,” the rookie said. “Everyone needs to realize we're going to have to start refocusing on Saturday and Sunday and gearing ourselves up. The first 10 minutes (of Game 1) are going to be pretty important to get any kinks out.”
Any form of layoff was unusual this NHL season, one that was condensed because of the Olympics. The Hurricanes, however, won four of five following the 16-day layoff for the Winter Games — a start that helped propel the team to the Southeast Division title.
“A week is a little longer layoff than we would have liked, but it's nice to re-juice the batteries again and get ready for what is going to be a big event,” Rod Brind'Amour said.
While a long layoff can affect a player's timing on the ice, the mental waiting game can be just as difficult.
“You really can't be uptight and go into these next couple of days gripping your stick like the game is going to start tomorrow,” Wesley said. “You've got to gradually built up and prepare and get focused.”
Once the puck drops next week, Cole said it shouldn't take the players too long to work out the kinks.
“When you are off for a week and then you play there are going to be nerves and excitement and a whole shelf of emotions that you have to keep under control,” he said. “Once you get out there and you get through the dog-and-pony show at the start and the puck is dropped, for me, when I get out there and get my first hit, I'll be fine.
“There is something that triggers everybody. Archie (Arturs Irbe) will make that first save and he'll be into it or that D-man makes that first pass off the breakout and he's into it.”
It may help Carolina that it opens the Cup finals on the road, where the club has won five straight in the playoffs. Wesley said the team at times tries to make the perfect play at home instead of grinding out shift-after-shift and wait patiently for scoring chances.
An anxious week off may have compounded that problem if the Hurricanes were starting the best-of-seven series in the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
“You are going to have the jitters, you are going to be excited,” Wesley said. “For us, opening on the road, for our style of play and the way we've played on the road, we're very, very comfortable and confident in our approach.”
The last time a team faced a week off before the Cup finals was Buffalo in 1999. The Sabres won Game 1 on the road in overtime, but lost the series to the Dallas Stars in six games.
Coach Paul Maurice will watch Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, but refused to say which team would be a better match for the Hurricanes.
“It's hard to say because there are two very different styles of games,” Maurice said. “The only area there is not a lot of difference is top-end skill. They both have an awful lot of it.”
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Carolina has week off before Game 1 of Cup
